Pages

Insights and perspectives on productions, players, and programs. A.C.T. nurtures the art of live theater through dynamic productions, intensive actor training in its conservatory, and an ongoing engagement with its community.

Warning: A.C.T. Interns Are a Force to Be Reckoned With

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

posted by Rose Hogan, A.C.T. Marketing Intern

So, I am an intern at A.C.T.—the marketing intern to be more precise. I organize press, help with promotions and special events, research shows and the demographics to which they appeal, and make lots and lots of copies. Some days I don’t know how a single person could possibly get everything done, and other days I reorganize newspaper clippings as I wait for something else to do. It was one of those fateful days when I had an idea. While my fellow interns and I are learning more and more about our prospective fields, we find there is still a lot about A.C.T. and the theater business as a whole that we don’t know about. So, why not take some time this year to rectify that—get all we can out of this internship? And if we in the “inner circle” have all these questions, isn’t it possible that audience members and other aspiring young theater professionals might want to hear the answers, as well?

. . . MY IDEA:
Create an intern-run podcast that explores how a major nonprofit theater works. A.C.T. is the perfect company for such a project as it is both a highly renowned producing theater company and an accredited graduate school for actors. Part of A.C.T.’s mission is to foster the development of future generations of theater artists.

I took my idea to the other nonproduction interns (Deborah in the artistic department, Lesley in publications, and Megan in dramaturgy), who got really excited about having our own project. Deborah immediately jumped on board to help me structure each podcast, write the proposal, and contact senior team members about approval. Lesley and Megan, having previous experience with blogs, offered their advice and guidance, and we all set out to make it happen!

The hip, talented, and incredibly beautiful head of marketing (I’m not brown-nosing at all), Janette Andrawes, immediately got behind the idea. She talked us through the process and helped us to better focus our episodes. After taking some time to arrange the technical needs of such an endeavor and finalize our exact plan for each week, we came up with a detailed proposal.

Check out our mission statement:
The A.C.T podcast is an educational tool for interns that offers a fresh perspective on how a not-for-profit theater functions, develops, and remains vital today. Over a series of episodes, the interns will interview staff members, seasoned professionals, and fellow newcomers in order to uncover the inner workings of A.C.T. Each interview will answer questions posed by the interns about A.C.T.’s mainstage, new works program, and conservatory, the larger theater community, and the challenges of being an aspiring professional in the arts.

Booya! That’s right—it’s going to be amazing. Educational and fun!

Last week, Janette presented our proposal to the senior team, who loved it and told us to go ahead with the interviews. Our first episode will introduce the interns (what we do here, what brought us here, what we hope to gain from our internships, etc.) and will feature interviews with Artistic Director Carey Perloff and Conservatory Director Melissa Smith.

So . . . if you have ever wondered what goes on behind the curtain, upstairs at A.C.T.’s administrative offices at 30 Grant Ave., and in the minds of masterful artists . . . TUNE IN to the A.C.T. INTERN PODCAST. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoy interviewing!!